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From: Richard D Riehle <laoXhai@ix.netcom.com>
Subject: Re: Simple algorithmic question I hope :-)
Date: 1999/10/31
Message-ID: <7vi3ll$m4u$1@nntp5.atl.mindspring.net>#1/1
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Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada
Date: 1999-10-31T19:01:08+00:00
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In article <7vhirl$92q$1@nnrp1.deja.com>,
	Robert Dewar <robert_dewar@my-deja.com> wrote:

>Gosh Ted, I hope you know that the name of the language is
>Fortran, and not FORTRAN (you know the old saying about
>stones and glass houses etc.) :-)

It makes me happy to program in aDa because it is not case sensitive. 
Therefore, I say, FoRtRaN, for fortran, or FORtran, or forTRAN. Case
sensitive reserved words was case sensitive identifiers sometimes
provide lots of late night entertainment when someone does something
such as,
 
                int INT

but usually more subtle, and usually not immediately visible. 

In the Ada community, we do pay special homage to the late Countess
of Lovelace by the convention of not turning her into some kind of
ugly acronym.  It is not a matter of snobbery, but an attitude of
respect for her contribution.  If she were alive, she might not 
approve of us shouting her name, ADA!, and might even prefer a more
diminutive and modest approach of ee cummings, as ada.   

Consider how this corresponds with contemporary usage of names. None
of the cognoscenti participating in this forum would even fall into 
the error of calling Robert Dewar, "Bob."   :-) 

Then again, we must consider the difference between form and 
substance.  Ada, ada, ADA, aDa, aDA, adA, ADa, AdA, all spell
quality in software.  The underlying language is the really
important issue.  If someone prefers, as I do, FORTRAN to Fortran,
I see little harm in it.  If someone chooses Fortran over Ada, 
we begin to suspect a serious intellectual defect.   If someone
chooses c++ over ada, regardless of where the capital letters
are placed, there is a clear indication of chronic mental aberration. 
Choosing the right tool is more important than choosing the 
preferred spelling. 

Richard Riehle